CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE BANKING SECTOR OF GHANA

Article Author:Seyram Pearl-Kumah,Yakubu Awudu Sare,Bawuah Bernard

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the degree to which banks in Ghana use risk management practices and corporate governance in dealing with different types of risk. A modified questionnaire, divided into two parts was developed and administered to the selected banks’ board of directors, senior risk management officers and selected staff. The first part of the questionnaire covered five aspects: understanding risk and risk management, risk identification, risk assessment and analysis, risk monitoring, and corporate governance and risk management practices. This part included 32 closed-ended questions based on an interval scale. The second part consisted of two closed-ended questions based on an ordinal scale dealing with two topics: methods of risk identification, and risks facing the sampled banks. The result of the study indicated that, Board of Directors, senior staffs and not all staff are actively involved in risk management and the most important types of risk facing the sampled banks are credit risk, operating risk, solvency risk, interest rate risk, and liquidity risk. The study also found out that the sampled banks are efficient in managing risk